Publications

As part of a larger ESRC-funded project on the political economies of school exclusions in the UK, this research examines alternative provision (AP). AP is where children and young people at risk of exclusion are removed from mainstream education. The AP sector does not provide a transitional pathway. Instead it is a complex disarray of…

Despite private tutoring gaining increasing popularity in many countries, studies of the choice of and rationale for private tutoring among Chinese parents before and after the ‘‘double reduction’’ policy (issued on July 24, 2021) in China are limited. This mixed-methods paper compares parents’ choice of private tutoring before and after the policy and the role…

This report presents findings from new research comparing the job quality, other than pay, of private and state school teachers in post-pandemic England and Wales, including those based at elite private schools, based on a survey of private and state school teachers who are members of the National Education Union. Information was obtained from 14,212…

Here, we provide a summary of key findings from our 11th survey (2022-23). Topics include trust in schools, pupil confidence, the Welsh language, school uniforms, climate concerns, pupil’s views on politics and the monarchy, recent strikes and protests, missing out on school trips, and pupils’ aspirations.

This report provides an analysis of the key differences and similarities in the landscape of alternative education provision (AEP) in the UK. As part of the ESRC-funded Excluded Lives Project, it attempts to illuminate some of the contextual factors that may contribute to the very different rates of school exclusion in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland…

Historically Wales has been regarded as a country with relatively low levels of school exclusion, particularly in comparison with England. This has been used as an indicator of Wales’ commitment to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which foregrounds a rights-based agenda that would argue school exclusion is a consequence of broader…

Foreword The WISERD Education Multi-Cohort Study (WMCS) recently celebrated its 10-year anniversary. The WMCS is a longitudinal study of children and young people in Wales. It was established in 2012 by Professor Sally Power and Professor Chris Taylor to chart the progress of children and young people growing up in Wales. Under their stewardship the…

Alternative provision (AP) is where young people at risk of exclusion because of their behaviour are removed from mainstream education into alternative forms of education. This research explores construction AP delivered by five organisations, using the work of Basil Bernstein as the theoretical approach on the sources of consensus and disaffection in education. Disaffection arises…

Learning has occupied a prominent place in Chinese culture since ancient times with the philosophy and practice of K’ung Ch’iu, (c551-c479, BCE), known to the Occident as Confucius, a pervasive influence (Liu Wu-Chi 1955). The promotion of learning was the duty of Imperial officials, and this also achieved high levels of civic participation by local…

This paper explores UK school students’ protest activism relating to their schools’ policies and practices, drawing on two datasets: 1) a newspaper analysis of media reports relating to school protests between 2000 and 2021; 2) a survey of 800 secondary school pupils in Wales. Drawing on social movements literature and adapting concepts for the school…